


In My Blood

by Yoongi_Bear



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bill Cipher is weird as usual, Bill actually has feels, Dipper is the oblivious love interest, F E E LS AND SHIT, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Healthy Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines, Human! Bill Cipher - Freeform, M/M, Mabel is a sassy bitch, Sad Bill Cipher, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 07:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14327841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoongi_Bear/pseuds/Yoongi_Bear
Summary: Bill Cipher wasn't the sentimental kind of demon. He preferredignoring his emotions, if you could call them that. They were more ofurges than anything else, something to give into when you got bored. Nothing serious, like human emotion. Human emotion you /had/ to give into, had to show. As funny as it was, watching humans fumble over their words and quaking in fear, Bill had to admit that he felt bad for the feeble creatures. After all, they were just meat sacks right?Something to possess, to play with and throw away when you were done. Toys. They couldn't control their feelings, couldn't shove them into a bottle. Well, they could, but it was harder than what dream demons did.





	1. Chapter 1

Bill Cipher wasn't the sentimental kind of demon. He preferred ignoring his emotions, if you could call them that. They were more of urges than anything else, something to give into when you got bored. Nothing serious, like human emotion. Human emotion you /had/ to give into, had to show. As funny as it was, watching humans fumble over their words and quaking in fear, Bill had to admit that he felt bad for the feeble creatures. After all, they were just meat sacks right?  
Something to possess, to play with and throw away when you were done. Toys. They couldn't control their feelings, couldn't shove them into a bottle. Well, they could, but it was harder than what dream demons did. 

When Bill had first decided to wreak havoc over the sleepy rural town of Gravity Falls, he had made a vow never to grow attached to one meat sack. Being he didn't have a dimension anymore, things could get lonely in the nightmare realm, and loneliness meant craving affections. Yet, affections were a fleeting luxury, and in the end you just got your heart broken and dragged through the mud. Maybe most of Bill's issues stemmed from his constant hatred of demon emotion and fascination with human ones, or maybe it was the fact that his human form gave him more of an understanding of feelings. That, and the fact that maintaining his own meat sack took time he didn't have, was the  
exact reason he didn't use his meat suit. Bill Cipher would stick with being cruel, sadistic, and emotionless for as long as he could. Human love was toxic, a poison with no antidote. He didn't need or want that hardship, he didn't need annoying humans. They were all just toys to discard once you were done, nothing more.

But, Mason Pines was different. Oh so different, painstakingly different. Dipper was an adorably awkward, intelligent, courageous  
teen. Everything Bill loved about humans and hated at the same exact time. Ah, if only Bill was human and not a sadistic golden demon equilateral, he would have flirted with Dipper already. It wasn't embarrassment that kept him from acting on his feelings, more of fear. Yes, it had been about five years since he had last seen the brunette and his whiny excuse of a twin, about two since Bill managed to utilize his human form to blend into society. Now that Bill had a human body, that meant he had the emotions too. At first, he had hated it with a bloody passion. He would be overwhelmed with guilt at random times, especially when he passed someone he'd hurt during Weirdmaggedon. At one point, the redheaded Wendy Corduroy (nicknamed Ice) had shot Bill a suspicious look as he walked past, which wasn't unusual but unsettling none the less. People usually looked at him funny, mostly because he looked like a tourist who overstayed his welcome at some sunny resort, what with his golden tan and all. Personally, Bill found his looks rather nice, but apparently, they weren't according to most of Gravity Falls, Oregon.  

 

Bill sighed, brushing his golden blond hair out of his eyes. The diner he worked in smelled of pancakes, syrup, and cigarettes, which blended into a musky, home-like scent. Besides that, the place was greasy and old, and Bill was glad he only had a three-hour shift. A giggling teenage couple left their table, old dishes sitting there waiting to be cleaned. Oh, greeeeat. Another mess to clean up. As Bill huffed and went to go clean up, the door opened, a curvy girl and lanky boy entering the diner.  

 

"Be right there guys, I just have to clean these dishes up," he said without really looking up at the customer's faces. Piling the dishes on top of each other, he set them in a gray bin and wiped his hands on the white apron tied around his waist over black pants and a yellow sweater.  

 

"Shut up, I am not obsessed," The male said as Bill walked over, his sister laughing. Bill raised a blond eyebrow, ice blue eyes quickly scanning over the two. The girl was short and curvy, with brown eyes and equally brown eyes. Her cheeks seemed to always be rosy, and she was dressed in an off-the-shoulder pink sweater. The brother had the same hair and eye color, but he was taller and a little thinner. He was dressed in a blue hoodie with the sleeves rolled up, a red tee-shirt, and jeans. It was the tattoos on his right arm that caught Bill's eye, however. On his forearm, there was a pattern of triangles, various incantations in a language Bill had a slight understanding of, and the ever-familiar Cipher Wheel.  

 

"Sure, DipDop. Keep telling yourself that," the sister replied before Bill spoke.  

 

"Hi, welcome to Greasy's Diner. I'll be your server, just call me Bill. Can I get you two a coffee to start?" He put on his best attempt at a friendly server smile, his heartbeat thudding in his ears. The kid in the blue knew what the Cipher Wheel was, plus him and his sister looked oh-so familiar. Who were they? The Pines Twins? It was possible, he had heard that they'd returned from the gossipy women who frequented the diner. But would they come here? Why? 

 

The boy's hands went to fidget with the dog tags around his neck, which from what Bill could see where embossed with a pine tree. "I'll take a black coffee, thanks. Mabel, what do you want?" The teen's eyes flitted to Bill, and chocolate eyes met ice blue ones. Bill's face heated when he saw the slight suspicion that blended with curiosity in the teen's eyes, and his suspicions were confirmed. Pine Tree was here, as well as Shooting Star. Great.  

 

Mabel ordered a root beer (why was Bill not surprised) and resumed her conversation with Dipper. Once the flustered Cipher entered the kitchen, he collapsed against the wall, his breathing uneven and rushed. He felt sick, in every sense of the word. He had all right to be. The people he had hurt so badly were here, nearly five years later, if only to torment him. Bill couldn't breathe, and the walls seemed to cave in on him. He was here, Dipper Pines, and looking better and happier than he ever did near Bill. That wasn't exactly what scared him, however. It was the suspicion, the fear in Pine Tree's eyes. He knew, didn't he? Dipper wasn't an idiot, he probably could see right through Bill's "innocent civilian" charade. That was it. He would be found, confronted, and banished again. Bill couldn't be alone again. No, please. After all the time he'd spent scared, spent alone, Bill would rather have died then go back to that hell. It normally wasn't like him to freak out like this, but human feelings did that. A small part of him wondered it something was wrong with his human mind, other than the part that let him fall for his worst enemy. Did he have anxiety? Was that possible? Or was he just overreacting? Probably overreacting. Argh. He was an all-powerful demon, what was he doing panicking about an insolent brat?  

 

Bill forced himself to do his job, grabbing the coffee and root beer and heading back to the Pines. They were now in heated debate, and from the few sentences he caught they were fighting over being the Mystery Twins again. Ah, classic. That would always be a quarrel for them, wouldn't it? This argument seemed worse than usual, because Mabel was the one yelling. "Maybe I want a normal life Dipper! I don't need this, and I especially don't need you!"  

 

Oh, ouch. Even Bill had to admit that was harsh, especially since it was coming from Shooting Star herself. Man, she had grown sassier over the years. Bill didn't know if he was proud or confused, but either way, he wanted to watch this play out. Pine Tree shrank back, his mouth opening to reply, but Shooting Star stormed out before he could reply. Dipper looked like he was about to start crying, and he buried his face in his hands. Bill felt a twinge of pain hit his heart like a bullet. He hated seeing Dipper like this, and he wanted to use his new identity as a fresh start and help. He set down the drinks on the table, and Dipper looked up. "Hey, mind if I sit and chat?" 

 

Dipper shook his head, wiping tears from his cheeks. "No, I don't mind."  

 

"Thank you," Bill sat down across from the brunette, who was now glancing from his folded hands to Bill again. Bill smiled sympathetically. "You alright? I saw the argument."  

 

"I'm as good as I can be, being my sister just yelled at me and stormed out." 

 

Ah, the ever-present sharpness of upset Pine Tree would never grow old. Bill used to like it, especially when the tone was directed at him, but now it just hurt. Dipper didn't need to be rude, Bill was just trying to help and be nicer. Would that ever happen, though? Was a kind Cipher just another unreachable goal? "Yeah, siblings do that. Do you want to talk about it?"  

 

Pine Tree shook his head, his hair bouncing as he did so. His tone changed from salty to remorseful, and overwhelmingly sad as he explained the situation. Dipper and Mabel's bond as siblings was one of the strongest Bill knew, yet one easily shattered by one word. Mabel and Dipper always fought about the whole "mystery twins" thing, mostly because the female in the pair always just wanted to be normal. Dipper wasn't like that, as far as the dream demon knew. Pine Tree was adventurous, something Shooting Star wasn't. She wanted a normal, high-schooler life, while all Dipper wanted was filling out another Journal and continuing Stanford's legacy. So, that's what Mabel had meant when she said he was obsessed. They had a falling out, and Mabel had snapped at him and left, which was why Dipper was crying now.  

 

Bill sighed, gathering his courage and reaching out for Dipper's right hand. He looked confused for a moment, but Dipper accepted. Bill felt his heart flutter, which was strange considering the circumstances. Here Pine Tree was, crying about his sibling issues, and Bill was being a flustered idiot. Jesus Christ. Was he an insensitive idiot? Yes, yes, he was. Being more supportive at his own expense, Bill shoved his feelings into another bottle and focused on rubbing circles into Dipper's hand. That seemed to calm him a little, and his shoulders relaxed. "I'm sure you two will make up," Bill said softly.  

 

"I hope so, Bill, I really do, but I doubt it. We argue so much, and this time-" Dipper went silent, pulling his hand away from Bill's. The dream demon in hiding huffed internally. Damn, Pine Tree was persistent on hating him. "Why am I even telling you this?"  

"I'm sorry?" 

Dipper shook his head and stood, his expression going from somewhat trusting to suspicious and closed off. "It's not you, I just...I gotta go. " He slid a couple green bills across the table before standing and leaving abruptly, also leaving Bill to wonder what he said. Was it something about him, his looks, or did Pine Tree loose his senses for a moment and open up to Bill? It was all too strange, which was quite the thing for a Cipher to say. 

He sighed, standing to clean the table and put the money in the cash register. Another masterful attempt at conversation and comfort gone wrong. If only there were a map or a journal to help Bill with human feelings. No, he had to go it alone like always. Oh well, he'd figure something out. He always did. 

 Well, tried to anyways. Most of his plans usually ended with disaster, and something told him this one would to. Getting Pine Tree to actually care about him would be damned near impossible, and Bill knew it. So, he would try, but hopefully not break his own heart.

After all, love was a poison, and not all poisons have antidotes. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

_"Saw his own dimension burn_

_Misses home and can't return_

_Says he's happy. He's a liar._

_Blame the arson for the fire. "_

 

 

As soon as the hands on the clock hit 1:00, Bill let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he could go home and think about today's events. And by think, he meant drink himself into oblivion. Well, not necessarily. He did have work the next day (which was Wednesday, his favorite day), and Bill was a lightweight drunk who got killer hangovers. He had found that out the hard way, when he first found himself human. That merited a few drinks itself. Waking up in the middle of a forest in a meat sack, plus the fact that "hey, I'm not in the nightmare realm anymore" had messed him up. One moment, Bill was his normal tortilla chip self, sitting in a chair feeling bad about himself, and then one blinding and rather painful flash later he was sitting in the middle of a forest clearing with actual hands and a body. That had scared him, and Bill had shrieked like a little girl before coming to his senses. One of the Axolotl's favorite ways to help people abolish their crimes was returning to worlds in different forms. Perhaps that was the Axolotl's doing, and that was why Bill was here living a normal human life, which was incredibly boring. How did the meat sacks manage to do the same exact thing every day and not want to kill themselves? It was so boring and tedious! What was the point? 

 

Bill Cipher cleaned a table he had served, shoving the measly tip of three dollars into his pants pocket before clocking out and leaving. Another day of small tips and rude customers was finally over, thank the Axolotl. His apartment building was a ten-mile drive to the east, and if he drove at a 65 mile per hour speed he could get home in under ten minutes. Maybe. Bill hoped so, anyways. All he wanted to do was collapse on his bed and cry himself to sleep. That was a normal human thing to do right? Most humans did that? Probably not, but Bill wasn't normal, so that didn't matter. Oh well, human things were hard and always would be. 

 

The cool breeze blowing through the sleepy town carried the scent of pine needles and blooming wildflowers, and Bill smiled softly despite his current mood. As much as Bill could say he hated Gravity Falls, he couldn't deny it's beauty. The calm, pristine forests, the crystal-clear rivers, and the always clear skies were some of his favorite things, but his all-time favorite was the stars at nighttime. Being that the sky was always so clear, he could see every constellation clearly, and it was positively amazing for stargazing. Bill was sure Dipper would enjoy it, if it wasn't for the fact that he'd be with Bill. If Bill could ever work up the courage to ask the brunette out, he'd host their first date on the roof of his apartment building. Yeah, it wasn't a classy restaurant, but it was the best place for stargazing out here, other than the Crash Site Omega. They would still have food of course, maybe a picnic of sorts, and they could eat and hang out while Bill showed Dipper all the constellations he knew. As nice a dream as that was, it would never happen. So, Bill abandoned that thought as so\on as possible. No use in getting his hopes up, because that would just result in heartbreak, and he didn't need that stress right now on top of work and hiding his identity. 

 

His gray Kia Forte was in the same parking spot it always was, the sunlight glinting from it like a mirror. Once he made it to his car, Bill tossed his white apron in the passenger seat and sat down in the driver's seat, grabbing the top of the steering wheel with both hands. After a moment of staring off into space, Bill slammed his head on the steering wheel, groaning. Bloody hell, why were feelings so hard? Curse humanity, curse the Axolotl. Curse the Oracle. Curse Stanford and his stupidly hot grandson. Curse it all to hell. "I hate this..." He mumbled as he sat up and started the car engine. "All I want is to go home." 

 

Of course, he didn't mean his apartment. Oh no, not that place. It barely qualified for a house, being he only had a little bit of furniture, enough clothes to not be a slob, and some food and dishes. Bill used to be a king, a force to be reckoned with, and now he was reduced to this mess. It was pathetic. He was a pathetic excuse for a dream demon, let alone meat sack. Bill thought on this more as he drove home down winding dirt roads and the occasional paved street. Home was his dimension, his kind. Oh, how he missed the sophistication of the dream demon race. His culture was one of the most intelligent, with all kinds of advanced technologies. It had been over an eternity since Bill had seen any of it, nonetheless recall its names. They were forgotten, a lost culture, and it very well may have been his fault. Not directly, of course, but somehow, he felt like the fire had been caused by himself. Bill couldn't explain it, and lord knows he'd tried, but it just wasn't possible. Who had started the fire? It was a mystery that couldn't be solved. Bill had only been about nine at the time of the fire, and he was more concerned with making sure his family didn't die than discover who committed arson. Now that he was older, eons older, all he wanted was to figure out who massacred his entire dimension, but that was nearly impossible being it was all gone. At the exact time Bill heard the first scream, he was in the dream demon equivalent of human school. The fire alarms had gone off long before blue tongues of flame came into view, and when they did, the entire student body was outside already. It was like a wall of just pure hell, and the fire was all you could see for miles. The teachers had been instructed to stay outside with their students, and that's exactly what they did. Looking back, Bill realized that should have been a major warning sign that something was off, but he had been nine, so he was more concerned with crying about a giant descending wall of hell flames. After a half hour of teachers floating around to comfort the sobbing children of varying shapes and colors, Bill gave up on waiting for his death. So, he left, heading towards his home. Once he arrived, his mother rushed him inside to the basement. A huge, triangle shaped portal that looked like a rushed build sat there, just waiting to be activated. Bill stared at his mother in pure confusion, mumbling "Momma? What's this for?" His mother only looked at him for a moment before ushering him toward the circle in the center. Bill started sobbing, demanding answers. "Momma, I'm scared! What is this, what are you doing?!" 

 

His mom replied with only, "Do as I say, Bill, and you'll be alright." This, of course, did nothing to help, but only worsened his anxiety. If Bill had a heart, it would've jumped out of his rib cage by then. His mom flipped a few switches, then suddenly the circle behind the yellow equilateral glowed a bright blue, and the gravity stopped altogether. The circle was getting closer, like it was approaching him, until Bill realized he was being sucked in. "Mom! Mommy, what's happening?! Mommy, please, talk to me!" 

 

The last thing he heard before being sucked in fully was his mother saying, "Don't forget me, baby boy." 

 

Bill sighed, pulling into a parking space by the door to the apartment building. He didn't realize he'd been crying until then, and he wiped off his cheeks, so he didn't look completely depressed. Not saying he wasn't (and he had all reasons to be), but he didn't feel like being asked "are you okay" every five seconds. It was obvious he wasn't, so why bother asking? They'd just be wasting their breath. Bill huffed as he exited his Kia and went up to the door, fumbling around with his keys until he found the one that unlocked the main door. Why did they need a key for the main door and then their apartment door? How useless was that?! Meat sacks really were stupid. Incredibly stupid. One key could do the job effectively. After another painful ten minutes of climbing stairs and fumbling with locks, Bill finally made it into his house and collapsed on the couch. Ugh. Had he mentioned that today sucked? Discovering the Pines Twins had returned, barely getting any tips, and then crying in the car about his mother hardly seemed like a good day to the human Cipher. But was any day a good day? No, no there wasn't. All Bill wanted was to go home, but that was impossible. He wanted his mother, he wanted to see her face again. Bill didn't even remember her face anymore, or her voice, but her words echoed in his twisted mind clear as day. She was gone, forever, and fading from his memory. Bill was failing his mother...He was just a melting pot of failures today, wasn't he? 

 

He brushed blond hair out of his ice blue eyes, that were now glossed over with tears again. "I'm sorry, Mom," he whispered in a horribly cracked and melancholy voice. "I'm sorry I'm letting you fade."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit of Bill angst inspired by the Axolotl poem! This stuff is going to come into play a little bit later hehe-! 
> 
> Also it was a bit shorter because my allergies are acting up (again, Jesus Christ) and it's clogging my ability to write S O.   
>  
> 
> Why do I love hurting my child like this.
> 
> Also, if you want, follow me on the Gravity Falls Amino and shoot me a PM about what you think/want to happen later! My Amino is : 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I gave y'all some fluff, because Bill needs a break honestly. Enjoy!

Silence. That's all Bill heard when he woke up at the perfect time of three AM. Why that time, he didn't know, but apparently his melatonin production said so. He huffed, sitting up slowly. He couldn't remember if he'd ate dinner, hell, he couldn't even recall going to bed, but he wasn't complaining. If Bill had fallen asleep on that dumb couch he'd have all kinds of back pain, and he did NOT need that. No sir, he did not need some aching joints on top of all the building stress he had. Funny thing, stress. It was like a card pyramid, one misplaced card or one card removed and down you went, toppling down social ladders. 

 

Once Bill got tired of staring at the dark ceiling for a half hour, he forced himself up to go do something other than what he was now. The whole apartment was an inky black, which was to be expected since it was only three thirty at night. Bill found himself stumbling lethargically until he found the bathroom down the hall and flicked on the light switch. Instantly bright white flooded the room, burning a few of Bill's retinas in the process. _"That's nice,"_ Bill thought as he leaned over the sink. _"There goes my retinas."_ He looked in the mirror at the mess that was himself now. Disheveled golden blond hair, tired ice blue eyes, and tan skin somewhat paled with sleepiness. A hug would be nice, but he lived alone so he didn't have anyone to hug. If only Pine Tree were here, and you know, cared for Bill. Bill was starting to think his feelings would always just be unrequited, like those silly Hanahaki fanfictions he read for fun. It was almost like he was in one, except without the flowers. Truthfully, Bill would rather be in that situation than the one he was currently in. At least it was easy to make it obvious to your object of affection that you liked them, but normally, it felt like Bill would go on loving Dipper without a reciprocation of feelings for forever. Oh well, he deserved it, being he tried to destroy an entire town. Bill didn't want to think about that right now, so he distracted himself from that train of hazardous thoughts by slashing ice-cold water on his face. After wiping the water off his face and fixing the mess of hair on his head, Bill walked over to the windowsill in his room and stared at the white dotting the inky black sky. The Milky Way shone brightly, like a ribbon of silvery glitter. Bill rested his head on his hand, smiling softly. Space had always been one of his favorite things, mostly because it was so mysterious. There were millions of galaxies, trillions of billions of stars and people just waiting to be met. Bill would be content just to sit there staring at them, smiling and fantasizing. He adjusted his position, but a shadow of a figure outside caught his eyes. Why would anyone be out this late at night? It didn't make sense. As the person walked under a lamp post, Bill finally saw the person's identity. His face flushed a right pink, his heart pounding like a drum. 

 

Bill tossed on a black hoodie and a pair of Converse and dashed out of the apartment, being careful to lock his door. He didn't want his few possessions being stolen, although, none of them were all that valuable. A refreshingly cool breeze swept over his face, and Bill smiled again. 

 

"Are you stalking me?" Dipper said jokingly as Bill walked up, his chocolate brown eyes shining with curiosity and mischief. Bill shook his head, chuckling. Of course, Pine Tree would think that even jokingly. The dork was probably hyperaware of everything and everyone hazardous around him, and Bill wasn't surprised after what horrible things he'd done. 

 

"No, I'm not that sick." Haha, funny joke. He used to be. "Better question is, what are you doing out here at four in the morning? That's not safe, you know." 

 

"I could ask you the same thing, Bill." So, Pine Tree remembered his name, despite it being a common name. So maybe he had left a more positive effect on Pine Tree. Maybe. "I couldn't sleep," Dipper replied, shrugging. His blue jacket was rolled up to his elbows, and Bill wondered how he wasn't cold. Did Pine Tree do this a lot, just walking in the dead of night? Maybe Dipper was weirder than Bill thought. 

 

"That's a good reason. How's the Mabel thing going?" 

 

Before Bill knew it, they had reached the park a few blocks away from his apartment complex. Dipper had briefly ranted about his sister and Bill listened as best he could, trying not to get distracted by staring into his eyes like the sap he was. Only Pine Tree had this effect on him, turning his guts into twisted messes and his knees to jelly. The stars were slowly fading, but it was still late enough that they could see every constellation. Bill could go on like this for forever this way, just talking and hanging out with his crush. It was beginning to seem like his feelings weren't so unrequited, and maybe Bill was insane, but he swore Dipper was walking close to him on purpose. Yep, insane. No way in hell would Dipper do that, unless Bill was crazier than he thought. Oh lord, was this kid driving Bill nuts in a good way. No matter how toxic love was, he would never be able to resist the beautiful feeling of being near his loved one, the fluttering chest and warm cheeks. Beautiful. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that this wouldn't last. Dipper would come to his senses and leave Bill, just like everyone always did. Bill didn't want to think about it, but he had to. What if they dove headfirst into a relationship only for Dipper to use him for a bit and then leave, never to be seen again? That was an unacceptable future, and Bill's gut twisted painfully at the thought. He didn't want that, didn't need that. Love was horrible, love was toxic, love was addicting, love was poisonous. Nope nope nope. Yet...Bill couldn't help but fall even more down the spiraling pit called love. It was one of those nice traps you couldn't get out of, and it sucked. 

 

"Hey Bill! I have a really good stargazing spot, race you there!" Dipper's voice shook Bill out of his toxic thoughts, his smile a candle in the dark. He dashed off toward the top of a hill framed with birch trees, laughing. Bill chuckled and chased after him, collapsing next to him once they reached the crest of the hill. Their eyes met for a long moment, smiling like idiots, and was Bill mistaken, or was Dipper blushing? Bill's face turned red before Dipper started laughing again and rolled onto his back. Bill did the same but stared at the sky as well. All he saw was sky for forever, stars dotting the blackness like powdered sugar on a chocolate donut. Bill started pointing out constellations, starting with Orion, while Dipper sat in silence and listened. 

 

"You know, there's nowhere else I'd rather be right now," Dipper said suddenly, brushing his hair out of his face and turning his head to face the other male. His freckle dusted cheeks were a slight pink, and his eyes were nervous. Bill turned red and nearly choked on his own spit, the familiar fluttery feeling in his chest returning. Where did that come from?! 

 

"Me too." Bill replied quietly, fidgeting with his hands. 

 

Dipper chuckled and rolled over, so he was only a few inches away from Bill, on his stomach. Bill smiled, staring at Dipper's perfect face hovering maybe six inches away from his. He was vaguely aware of his heart pounding in his chest, another weird love-y dove-y sensation to add to the list. Their eyes met again, and Bill could hear Dipper's breath hitch slightly. Time seemed to stop, the only sounds their mixed breathing and pounding hearts. Could this be a dream? Was Bill dreaming? No, he couldn't be. It all felt too real, but too perfect to be real. It felt like they could go on for forever this way, just staring at each other and blushing, but Dipper ruined the moment by rolling back over away from Bill and laughing. "That was awkward," Bill mumbled. 

 

Maybe his feelings weren't unrequited. Maybe somewhere, in some alternate universe, him and Dipper could be okay. They could be together without it being awkward and uncomfortable. Hell, what if it wasn't in an alternate reality? What if they could be together in this reality? They could be alright for forever this way. Two friends on a perfect night, maybe more. If only Bill had the guts to act on his own selfish emotions. Stupid emotions, always getting in the way. 

 

For the rest of the night, until six in the morning, they just talked and laughed. The stars faded as they spoke, but that didn't matter. Life would be alright for forever this way, just two friends on a perfect day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys didn't catch the half million references I tossed in this, the song this chapter was loosely based off is "For Forever" from the Broadway musical "Dear Evan Hansen"! Give it a listen!


End file.
